Using the rd10 mouse model of RP induced by a mutation in the rod photoreceptor-specific Pde6b gene (Chang et al, 2007), a causative gene in human RP (McLaughlin et al, 1993), we demonstrate that microglia infiltrate the ONL early during degeneration and phagocytose non-apoptotic, living rod photoreceptors via a process of dynamic physical contact followed by rapid engulfment and internalization. This evidence concerns the gene PDE6B and retinitis pigmentosa 1.